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Brynwood Needleworks - Farmhouse Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie Filling

I know you're wondering about the title for today's post. Well, I had completely different plans for the weekend, but my mind wandered and I ended up doing this yesterday!

It all began with a gorgeous Saturday, that was comfortably cool for working in the garden. I weeded out a huge bed, and then tackled the area adjacent to the rhubarb patch. Before you know it, I was pulling the flower stems on the rhubarb, and then pulling rhubarb to take inside. (Did you know that you're not supposed to cut the stems of rhubarb from the plant? Rather, by twisting the rhubarb near the base, it comes clean from the plant, and also signals the plant that it's missing a stem. That way, the plant knows to replace it with a new one. Cutting short-circuits the message, and the plant doesn't know to regenerate. Mine are already sprouting new shoots, so I'll get at least one more harvest this summer!)

Anyway, we bought twelve pounds of strawberries, and I picked a basket of rhubarb so full that I almost couldn't lift it to carry to the house! (Don't worry. I persevered, and I made it to the kitchen with my haul.)

When I got up on Sunday morning, canning beckoned. I began at ten o'clock in the morning, and finished with the water bath for the last batch at five thirty in the afternoon. A long day, but much to show for it. I finished with eighteen quarts, plus one pint of beautiful strawberry-rhubarb pie filling. Handsome was outside, and when he came back in, he said the whole house smelled like a candy factory!

I made some of this last year, but not nearly as much. There's something wonderful about inviting summer back into your home in the depths of winter. It really is possible with this pie filling.

I'd like you to see something else in this picture, too. Do you notice the little drawers to the left of all those beautiful jars? It's a recent gift from a blog friend.

Brynwood Needleworks - Gifts From Marcy

If you followed my blog in 2015, you may remember the "Dress A Girl Around The World" effort that I sponsored here on my blog. I love this program to make dresses for girls and young women around the world, as a way to raise their self esteem and clothe them at the same time. You can Google "Dress A Girl Around The World" to learn more about their worthwhile effort and how you can participate in your state.

When I began the dress drive in 2015, I simply asked if there were people who read my blog who would like to help me reach a goal to donate 100 dresses. That number was quickly surpassed, and my one-time drive lasted through 2016.

By the end of my involvement (we were preparing to move back to Wisconsin), my blog friends and I had donated a total of 725 dresses and 429 dolls. We really made a difference.

Well, one of my friends continues to make and donate dresses to this day. Marcy lives in California, and hopes to sew her 1,000th dress before the end of this year!

Brynwood Needleworks - Butter Press

Marcy saw one of my posts about needing to downsize my fabrics, and asked if there might be anything I could pass on to her toward her goal. Of course, I immediately said "yes"!

She offered to trade with me, because she also knew that I have been searching for a set of antique spice drawers for our kitchen that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg. She had two, and said she'd like to give one to me. Can you even imagine how excited I was!!! Not only would I be able to help her reach her dress goal, but I would have a set of spice drawers, and they would come from someone I deeply admire. She said she'd package it up and send it on to me.

Brynwood Needleworks - Enamelware From Marcy

Not only did my dear blog friend send the spice drawers, but she also included some lovely enamelware pieces to go on my kitchen shelves! A sweet funnel, and a little covered pitcher were also in the box.

Brynwood Needleworks - Enamelware and Tooled Box

She didn't stop there, either. She also included a large enamelware tray, a wooden butter press and a sweet tooled box that I'll be using to carry threads! I was really speechless.

Brynwood Needleworks - My "New" Old Spice Drawers

I'm so grateful for the gifts Marcy sent to me, but I'm more grateful for being able to say that I'm friends with this kind and generous woman. I'm going to choose some of the most beautiful fabrics to send her way, and I know she'll put them to the best use by making more dresses for little girls.

Thank you, Marcy, from the bottom of my heart. I love everything, and will cherish these gifts always.

Enamelware...

Large Enamelware Pot

On Saturday, I teased you with a photograph of enamelware pieces I purchased on Friday. I wanted to wait until daylight to get some better images to show you. Well, it rained most of the weekend, so although I'm less than thrilled with the pictures, here they are.

This first picture is a large pot I bought. It still has the original label on it. I guess that's a big deal for collectors. I'm not sure how I'll handle it, as I plan to use the pot in the future.

Covered and Larger Pieces

I went to the home of the lady who was selling these pieces, and as I was the first one there, I had my pick of her treasures. Most of the pieces I purchased have no interior chips. That's really wonderful, considering their age, and that she used them, too. Some of them look brand new!
 

All Shapes and Sizes

There were rectangular pieces, bowls, a colander and pie plate, and a handled saucepan. She actually had all the sizes of the saucepans, but in spite of the awesome prices, I tried to budget myself. I also considered that I need to find a place for all of them until our kitchen is finished, too.

Half Gallon Enamelware Pitcher

Another feature that really will come in handy is that many of the pieces have markings for measuring the contents. Here's a closeup of the half gallon pitcher (in excellent condition!), showing the markings.

My thinking on these new acquisitions is, 1) They're perfect for a farmhouse, and 2) many of them can be used for cooking (and canning!), so they're beautiful and useful. In fact, I've already used more than a few pieces for canning this past weekend.

Perfect For Our Chinois

One large piece was missing the bale handle, but I saw it and immediately knew how I would be using it. As soon as I got back home, I grabbed the chinois and placed it over the pot. Perfect fit! Now I have a piece that will catch everything that I mill through the strainer, and then I can easily pour from that back into a pot to finish cooking.

Slow Cooker Applesauce

 

Of course, I tried it out Saturday. Handsome and I had to run errands, so I cored and peeled twelve pounds of apples and popped them into two slow cookers before we left. We came home to stewed apples, which I ran through the chinois and then back into a pot to bring up the temperature.

 

Handsome stirred the mixture while I added the cinnamon and nutmeg, and set up the canner, jars and lids. He's actually enjoying this process as much as I am, and most days he's offering and eager to help. (Remember, he didn't like peeling pears, though.)

 

This applesauce is darker than the first batch. It tastes just as fresh and rich, but I'm thinking the addition of more peels is responsible for the browner color.

Our elder son and his family were here yesterday for the heartbreaking Packer game, followed by dinner and Birthday cake for same son. We sent them home with a number of jars from the pantry. Our pickles were a particular hit with our daughter-in-love, so we made sure to include those in their care package. I gave them jar of the applesauce, too, and I got a text late last night telling me that our grandson thought it was delicious, so that's all this grandma needs to know!

Needless to say, there was no sewing this weekend. Today, I shall not be dissuaded. There will be sewing...rain or shine.